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I'm all for black paint bodies, and the marks one puts on them, which is why I shoot a Millennium and a black paint M4.

 

There's in my opinion nothing special about the MP-3; it was just something LHSA designed to create a replica (original) MP with a light meter. Only the fact that most of the 500 black ones and the 500 chrome ones were bought by collectors makes them special. Again this is just my view. For much less one can get a similarly specced black paint body. For instance the Millennium with its two lenses.

 

I would understand the choice to spend 20k if it were an original MP. The MP-39*went recently at the LP Foto auction in Stockholm for about 30,000€ but a little while earlier the MP-57 was sold for about 12,000€. These are the real deal and a whole lot cooler IMHO than a replica.

 

All this being said, if the money is there then by all means go ahead. All I'm saying is that there are less expensive virtually identical alternatives.

An original BP MP was advertised on eBay recently for $235,000. I think that would be one for display in a glass case.

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Rirakuma said is right: it all boils down to your available income.

 

To all the people trying to talk the guy into a ZINC M6, can you please stop?

 

I regard my BP MPs as lifetime conpanions. Unique tools that will brass from my own hands. And this is priceless.

 

My camera, my brassing, my prints, my vision. All mine. My hands don't have time to lose with ZINC or CHROME cameras which only become uglier with use.

 

You got the money? You gonna use the thing? Well buy it and never look back. To hell with ZI C and CHROME.

 

I think you need to read the OP again. 

 

Also chrome cameras don't get uglier with use. They stay pretty much the same - my lllf and M2 (both chrome) look pretty much how they would have looked when new. 

 

The alloy bodies can suffer from some reaction which causes little pimples in the finish. Doesn't happen to all however. 

 

The OP's choice is entirely personal but he's asked what others would do. He should do what he wants. 

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Buying it is an investment so it seems... yet I'd never dare to use it... And a camera - Leica or not - is for using, at least for me.. So if settled with a M3, M6 and CL if I need real portability. And they see a lot of action, and I'm glad they're not perfect in looks, but sure they are in technical state, so I can use them for years and years without worrying! Just my simple thoughts...

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Buying it is an investment so it seems... yet I'd never dare to use it... And a camera - Leica or not - is for using, at least for me.. So if settled with a M3, M6 and CL if I need real portability. And they see a lot of action, and I'm glad they're not perfect in looks, but sure they are in technical state, so I can use them for years and years without worrying! Just my simple thoughts...

A few months ago, a shop tried to sell me a M6 Benelux for € 1200,- A year earlier for € 1800,-  They had it from a person who bought it as an investment. The problem to me is, that these investments also have a shutter that was not used for over a decade. To me that makes the camera less valuable. To some others I suppose too. Hence the price.

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I paid $5,000 for that set in new unused condition in 2008 during the start of the Great Recession, used the heck out of it on a major project for three years then sold it for triple the price. I see no sense at all in paying 20 grand for a collector's camera since it is no better than an MP or even a properly tuned M6 on the inside...that last part was told to me by a well known Leica repair tech who adjusted the RF for me.

 

It was a nice camera to use and if it were a .85 I would likely have kept it but .72 and a 50mm is just not my favorite combo.

 

Now days I use an M3 with a modern non-APO 50 Summicron and a freshly CLA'd M6TTL upgraded to the MP RF, 90 & 135 frame lines removed with a 35mm lux asph and 28 Biogon. Both cameras are every bit as smooth as that MP3 was, brilliant VF's and allow fantastic pics. I might have gone for a black paint M6 if I could have found one that was not mint and overpriced because of it, but because I care only about the photos I make, I found the really clean M6TTL for $1,100 and put a few hundred into making it a freaking dream machine.

 

And I did have M6's before as well, one got beautifully worn even in black chrome, I quite liked the look of it and will again.

 

But the black paint MP3, gorgeous camera no doubt....but I have never seen that set go for more than 22K and I doubt you ever would, so 20 grand to become a user does not make a lot of sense even in the photography fantasy land that is Leica.

Edited by Ai_Print
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I paid $5,000 for that set in new unused condition in 2008 during the start of the Great Recession, used the heck out of it on a major project for three years then sold it for triple the price. I see no sense at all in paying 20 grand for a collector's camera since it is no better than an MP or even a properly tuned M6 on the inside...that last part was told to me by a well known Leica repair tech who adjusted the RF for me.

 

It was a nice camera to use and if it were a .85 I would likely have kept it but .72 and a 50mm is just not my favorite combo.

 

Now days I use an M3 with a modern non-APO 50 Summicron and a freshly CLA'd M6TTL upgraded to the MP RF, 90 & 135 frame lines removed with a 35mm lux asph and 28 Biogon. Both cameras are every bit as smooth as that MP3 was, brilliant VF's and allow fantastic pics. I might have gone for a black paint M6 if I could have found one that was not mint and overpriced because of it, but because I care only about the photos I make, I found the really clean M6TTL for $1,100 and put a few hundred into making it a freaking dream machine.

 

And I did have M6's before as well, one got beautifully worn even in black chrome, I quite liked the look of it and will again.

 

But the black paint MP3, gorgeous camera no doubt....but I have never seen that set go for more than 22K and I doubt you ever would, so 20 grand to become a user does not make a lot of sense even in the photography fantasy land that is Leica.

Thank you. Been a really tough call on what should be an easy question. i appreciate everyone's input. 

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Recently I purchased a M7 that was a used 2002 manufacture and what I found was that it had the original viewfinder  (non MP one) the DX reader was not infra-red and after using the camera for the weekend really liked the way the aperture preferred automatic setting worked.

I decided I liked it so much that it was worth ordering a a-la-carte M7.

That way it was up to date production with all the teathing problems corrected and with a new warranty.

 

Like others have said here you buy what inspires you to be creative.

 

I have come from a background of using the M9 for several years and now MP240  really loving the gear.

There is something about film that is magical however and I think the M7 is perfect to explore this with in the future.

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Just wanted to mention Peter Loy in London has an M6J set and a Millennium body available. 

£2,749 M6J, £1,695 Millennium. Speaking of de/valuation, that's a lot less than what I paid for my Millennium almost three years ago.  And that higher price was slightly under its original price at launch, which I remember was part of my self-justification for buying. Saying that, these things are investments in enjoyment, and mine has paid rich dividends. And when I apply the same factors to my M9, bought new in 2011 and ignominiously sold three years later with a corroded sensor for a third of the price, things fall into their proper perspective... 

Edited by M9reno
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Very good points, Al. Investments in enjoyment, indeed.

 

By all accounts I was lucky with my Millennium, but other Leica purchases spring to mind as not having fallen in the "good deal" category price-wise, my 50 Summilux Asph, for instance, bought at the height of scarcity a few years back. I consider myself lucky, though, because while I bought it used I have never had to adjust that lens.

 

Swings and roundabouts in a way.

 

 

best
Philip

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I found a MP-3 set mint and of course, its beautiful. Insanely beautiful. However, at around $20k for a BP MP (its special, I know) a leicavit, and a BP 50 summilux- I'm wondering if the cost is just well, ridiculous. I want to shoot. I want to ultimately run two bodies with B&W and Portra.

 

I don't think there is anything crazy about buying the MP-3 set – and I agree it is a very attractive set – but $20K does sound a bit steep, even if, whenever you are looking to buy a collectible item, you are inevitably faced with a seller's market. Personally, if I had that sort of money to buy new Leica gear I'd prefer the new limited edition black chrome Summilux (the same lens as in the LHSA set) paired up with either an a la carte M or M-A and keep the change. Your $20K would easily buy you two such bodies and the fancy 50 and leave about $7k for a crate of Portra and B&W film. :)

Edited by wattsy
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Recently I purchased a M7 that was a used 2002 manufacture and what I found was that it had the original viewfinder  (non MP one) the DX reader was not infra-red and after using the camera for the weekend really liked the way the aperture preferred automatic setting worked.

I decided I liked it so much that it was worth ordering a a-la-carte M7.

That way it was up to date production with all the teathing problems corrected and with a new warranty.

 

Like others have said here you buy what inspires you to be creative.

 

I have come from a background of using the M9 for several years and now MP240  really loving the gear.

There is something about film that is magical however and I think the M7 is perfect to explore this with in the future.

Yes, what attracted me to the M7 over the other film M cameras was not just the identical control layout to the Monochrom /M9/M240 (including the shutter-speed dial moving in the same direction, but that for me aperture priority speeds us the process where I have less time to shoot.

 

Not necessarily for point & shoot exposure, but that if I don't want to shoot manual I can move the camera around the scene, find the shutter speed I want, lock it in, recompose and shoot. Much faster than manually adjusting the  shutter speed dial.

 

The M7 is a terrific camera.

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Buy with your heart. Know that the first scratch will take its resale cost down to less than 50% of what you paid, so put it on yourself so you dont worry anymore.

 

Or get an A-La-Carte version so it looks exactly like the way you want, paint or black chrome, viewfinder, leather type and colour.

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Buy with your heart. Know that the first scratch will take its resale cost down to less than 50% of what you paid, so put it on yourself so you dont worry anymore.

 

I rather doubt that. I am often struck by how little difference there usually is in resale cost between mint and even user condition for Leica equipment in basic demand. As an example, a mint condition MP (regular variety) will cost around £2,000 whereas a user condition example (quite scuffed-up and well brassed, though functionally perfect, condition) is unlikely to be found for less than £1,500. The MP-3 LHSA example cited will have different 'collector' market dynamics but I doubt that a mint example will fetch twice that of a mint-minus or excellent-plus example. The problem with looking at something like the MP-3 set from an investment point of view (which I don't think the OP is) is that there is so little liquidity in the market (the number of sellers and buyers in the world at any one point in time is probably in single figures) that the market price is likely to fluctuate wildly, irrespective of condition (within reason).

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The problem with looking at something like the MP-3 set from an investment point of view (which I don't think the OP is) is that there is so little liquidity in the market (the number of sellers and buyers in the world at any one point in time is probably in single figures) that the market price is likely to fluctuate wildly, irrespective of condition (within reason).

 

Yes. Though I am wondering if, given that so few of the MP-3s are actually used as cameras, a well used, brassed and worn but fully functioning camera wouldn't manage to keep its value. It would be a bit of a curiosity.

 

This reminds me of when I bought my Millennium. The dealer told me that unfortunately the camera wasn't mint as a little bit of the paint had worn off from the brass strap lugs because the previous owner stupidly had attached the strap - the horror. He should see it now, haha.

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Both my M7s are the earlier model without optical ISO reader, uniimproved finder, and they are just fine. They were my first 'A'uto exposure cameras and it is humbling how much better they expose than I do with a hand held meter when working quickly.

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Oh man. It's kinda a long story, but I had committed to an MP-3 set and sent gear in as a trade in. While in transit I had these mixed emotions, posted this thread, sent an email backing out of the deal, AND jumped on a MP-6 and BP 35 Summicron. All set right? Well it turns out I couldn't get out of the deal and now own BOTH an MP-3 set new and the MP-6 mint. The guy was super cool and knocked it down a fair amount- but now... well, I guess I have some sweet cameras to play with and an amazing credit card bill. When I receive them in the mail I guess I'll figure out what to do. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Update... Received the MP3 set. MP6 arrives tomorrow. As I said, I tried to back out of the MP3 set and now I'm "stuck" with it. It is without question the most beautiful camera I have ever held. I already have a black paint 35 and with the retro black paint 50 it's seriously insane. The clean framelines are really nice. The M3 top plate, all black everything- just amazing. However, knowing I could turn around and sell it for at least what I paid if not more has me bugging out. It's a camera yet I can't tell if would possible not to baby it. Would you take it to Vietnam? Would you take it out everywhere and not care about marking it? The marks are what would make it special... and deprecate it. You would have to turn a switch and not care to keep it. BUT - damn you could do a lot with the money from the sale. So screwed. 

 

IMG 3088

 

Edited by BigBabyEarl
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